Perfect Partners & Housekeeper Wanted

A wonderful evening of entertainment was presented by Thornton Le Dale Players with these two well-chosen One Act plays, each of which ideally suited the casting choices.  Perfect Partners chartered the trials of Edwina Lovelock running her less than successful dating agency in the midst of her own impending divorce.  Pauline Closier as the disillusioned Edwina showed contempt and cynicism in equal measures at the “dating game”.  Dan Dwyer as her drunken, soon to be ex-husband Jonathon maintained his state of inebriation convincingly throughout.  The pair were outed as charlatans by journalist David Murray (Barry Whitaker) and potential client Susan Carter (Dee Dwyer).  The design of the set ideally represented a second-rate office in a less than salubrious neighbourhood, with well-placed props, this coupled with the modest yet effective lighting design ensured the overall feel of the production was realistically shabby.  The same set was then transformed in the interval into a living room in anticipation of Housekeeper Wanted.  And what a transformation, props were removed and new ones replaced with obvious purpose, to create a typical suburban living room.   This two hander proved a real treat for the audience, with superb acting from both Chris Knowles as Victor and the extremely talented Chris Baxter as Visitor 1, 2, 3 & 4.  Chris Baxter gave us four very distinct and diverse characters ranging from a quick witted, yet partial to an odd tipple, old lady; a seductive cougar; a manic knife wielding mystery woman and finally an apologetic housewife, all of which were individually defined in their accents, posture and presentation – a tough challenge for any actress, but brilliantly achieved.  Chris Knowles playing opposite reacted and interacted with each visitor wonderfully, whilst all the time maintaining his own well-crafted character.   Many congratulations to the director in producing two successful plays.

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